Rangers in crisis: Taxman won't give up pursuit of cash from shamed former owner Craig Whyte

THE taxman trained his sights on Rangers’ guilty men yesterday as the club were forced into liquidation.

THE taxman trained his sights on Rangers’ guilty men yesterday as the club were forced into liquidation.

Disgraced former owner Craig Whyte is the prime target for the HM Revenue and Customs probe into the financial disaster which doomed the club.

Whyte could be held personally responsible for £21million in tax which went unpaid under his regime – and his co-directors could come under scrutiny too.

The investigation will be headed by insolvency firm BDO, who are to be appointed as liquidators of Rangers.

Yesterday, HMRC insisted that liquidation is the best way to protect taxpayers and the future of Rangers.

They said their refusal to accept a company voluntary agreement over the club’s debts – forcing the creation of an entirely new company – would allow them to pursue individuals like Whyte in the courts.

The creation of a newco will wipe away at a stroke the potential liabilities of the so-called “big tax case” – which is concerned with Employee Benefit Trusts run over several years under Sir David Murray’s stewardship.

The debt from that, with penalties, could have topped £50million.

But HMRC believe they are owed £21million on top of that by Rangers.

Under Whyte – unlike under the Murray regime – the club handed over none of the tax deducted from staff wages under PAYE to the taxman.

Whyte deliberately withheld £9million, hoping to use it as a weapon in the “big tax case”.

The money was due for the period from when Whyte took over at Ibrox in May last year until February this year when the club lurched into administration.

While there may be debate about Rangers’ liabilities in the “big tax case”, there is no debate that the taxman should have been paid the £9million debt accrued during Whyte’s watch.

By not paying up and filing no accounts, Whyte believed he could use the unpaid money as a negotiating tool in the “big tax case”.

An HMRC statement at the time said: “We can’t discuss specific cases for legal reasons but tax that has been deducted at source from the wages of players and support staff such as groundkeepers and physios must be paid over to HMRC.

“Any business that fails to meet that basic legal requirement puts the survival of the business at risk.”

Whyte’s disregard for rules – whether in business or sport – led to the SFA ruling that he was not a fit and proper person to run a football club.

He was fined £200,000 but says he will launch a counter-claim against the SFA rather than paying up.

And while Whyte may have been an unknown quantity in football circles when he took over the club, evidence suggests he was well known to HMRC.

Gary Withey – Rangers company secretary and the man described by the Ibrox administrators Duff & Phelps as “a person of crucial importance” – is another who could be in the frame for HMRC pursuit.

Withey, a partner in Collyer Bristow – Whyte’s London solicitors – quit his Rangers role in March, claiming his involvement with Whyte had brought the law firm into disrepute. He also quit Collyer Bristow.

He claims he first became suspicious of Whyte’s intentions when HMRC began acting “incredibly aggressively”.

Withey was named as one of the Hot 100 Lawyers of 2012 by The Lawyer magazine. But his involvement with Rangers at one point appeared to force him into hiding.

At the time, a Collyer Bristow spokesman said: “He has left for personal and family reasons. Gary and his family are under a lot of pressure.”

Another in the frame is David Grier, a senior partner with Duff and Phelps, who was at Whyte’s side when he bought Rangers, long before his firm became the Ibrox administrators.

Grier has denied allegations he knew all along how Whyte planned to finance the settling of Rangers’ debt by selling off advance season tickets.

Malcolm Cohen, of BDO, said yesterday: “The joint liquidators will be seeking to protect any remaining assets, maximise recoveries for the benefit of creditors, and investigate the reasons behind the failure of the company.

“It is important to understand that the appointment of liquidators will not mean the end of football at Ibrox – only the end of the company that ran the club. This is the structure BDO will investigate.

“It is right that there is a full and robust investigation into why the company failed, together with concerted efforts to recover monies for creditors and the taxpayer.

“This may include pursuit of possible claims against those responsible for the financial affairs of the company in previous years.”

David Murray said last night: “It is a very, very sad day in the history of Rangers FC. But I sincerely hope the newco can take Rangers back to where they once stood.

“If there was to be an inquiry, by HMRC or any other authorised body, then of course I will make myself available to help in any way I can and answer all relevant questions.

“However, it was three years ago this month that I stood down as chairman. The events that have unfolded since are most regrettable.”